Suggested Daily Nutrition

For reference, here are the average daily requirements for various types of nutrition:

• Calories: 2000-2500 kcal/day for men, and 1600-2000 kcal/day for women.
• Protein: 0.8-1.0 g/kg of body weight/day.
• Carbohydrates: 45-65% of total daily calories, or at least 130 g/day.
• Fat: 20-35% of total daily calories, or at least 20-35 g/day.
• Cholesterol: Less than 300 milligrams per day for most adults, and less than 200 milligrams per day for individuals with heart disease or high blood cholesterol levels.
• Sodium: Less than 2,300 milligrams per day for most adults, and less than 1,500 milligrams per day for individuals with high blood pressure, kidney disease, or other health conditions.
• Sugar: No more than 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men.

Data & Limitations

Our data is from Kaggle and was created for the purpose of analyzing the health of different fast food items. The full data set can be found HERE, where you can view other variables that were not a part of our analysis.

A possible limitation of our data analysis is the fact that the nutritional information or availability of certain menu items could differ depending on the location. Our data does not account for this variability. Another limitation is that we focus on two kinds of nutrients at a time. It is difficult to get a total picture of health when you are only given enough information to compare two health components. To remedy this, we provide a matrix of plots with comparisons for all our variables at the end of each restaurant’s analysis.

What Should I Order?

Each cluster represents a grouping of menu items with different levels of protien and calories. Group 1 is labeled as Lower Average for Calories/Protien because the food items in that cluster contain an average of 483 calories and 26 grams of protein. Group 2 is labeled as Bring on the Calories and Protein! because it has the highest levels of calories and protein for all the groups with an average of 950 calories and 46 grams of protien. Choosing a menu item from this category would be a good idea if you are looking for a big filling meal that is high in protien. Higher Average for Calories/Protien is the name of group 3 because those items have an average of 678 calories and 37 grams of proteins. The final group 4 is labled If you’re on a diet… because these menu items are catering to people who want to consume a lighter meal that is not heavy in calories or protien. The averages from this group are 258 calories and 15 grams of protein.

What Should I Order?

Each cluster represents a grouping of menu items with different levels of protien and calories. Group 1 is labeled as Average for Calories/Protien because the food items in that cluster contain an average of 654 calories and 30 grams of protein. Group 2 is labeled as Least Protien/Calorie Dense Items because it has the lowest levels of calories and protein for all the groups with an average of 345 calories and 16 grams of protien. Choosing a menu item from this category would be a good idea if you are trying to follow a diet of healthier foods. More Rich in Calories/Protien is the name of group 3 because those items have an average of 1052 calories and 59 grams of proteins. If you are looking to bulk up and eat a meal that is very filling, this is the category to choose from.

What Should I Order?

Each cluster represents a grouping of menu items with different levels of sodium and calories. Group 1 is labeled as Very Salty because the food items in that cluster contain the heighest amounts of calories and sodium with an average of 915 calories and 3090 mg of sodium. Group 2 is labeled as On the lower side for Calories/Sodium because it has the lowest levels of calories and sodium for all the groups with an average of 210 calories and 641 mg of sodium. Choosing a menu item from this category would be a good idea if you are trying to follow a diet of healthier foods which contain less salt. Average For Chick-Fil-A is the name of group 3 because those items have an average of 484 calories and 1383 mg of sodium.

What Should I Order?

The first cluster contains 14 menu items, which are listed under “Average for Dairy Queen” This is labeled this way because these menu items have an average of 568.5714 calories per serving, and 30.64 grams of fat, which is right in the middle for these five groups. If you find yourself at a Dairy Queen and want to feel full and don’t mind consuming a bunch of calories and fat, choosing an item from this list would be a good idea. The second cluster is labeled “On the Richer Side” and these menu items contain an average of 812.5 calories and 49 grams of total fat. These four items contain the second-highest average amount of calories and fat for Dairy Queen. So, if you are at Dairy Queen, and want to have a large meal that is very satisfying, these four items may be a good choice. The third cluster also contains four items, which have an average of 1,085 calories, and 67 grams of total fat. This is labeled “Most Fatty/Calorie Dense Items” because these four items are the items with the highest calories and fat that DQ offers. So, if you plan on ordering any of these four items, I would be informed that you are consuming a lot of fat and a lot of calories. The fourth Cluster is labeled “lower calorie and fat food items” because it contains some of the least rich items on the menu. These items have an average of 340.5556 calories and only 17.611 grams of total fat. These 18 items would be a good choice for anyone who is looking to have a lighter meal and still feel satisfied after eating it. The fifth and final Category is labeled “The Few Low Calorie/Fat Items” and contains the two salads that Dairy Queen has to offer. These two salads have an average of 85 calories and only 1 gram of fat. So, if you are on a diet or want a small snack while at Dairy Queen, these two options are perfect for you.

What Should I Order?

The 57 menu items that can be found at McDonald’s are categorized into four different clusters based on calories and total fat. The 22 items in the first cluster labeled “Average for Mcdonalds” and displayed in the graph with the army green color have 714.5455 calories on average and 34.59 average grams of total fat. These items would be good choices for someone that is fairly hungry and wants a hearty meal that is not overly rich. The second cluster labeled “The Fattiest and Most Calorie Dense Item on the Menu, and is labeled in bright green on the graph only contains one item. This item is the 20-piece Buttermilk Crispy Chicken Tenders, which contains 2,430 calories, and 141 grams of fat. This item contains over the daily recommended calories for a person, and over four times the recommended amount of fat per day. So, this item is only recommended for someone looking to share the food with someone else, or someone who needs to consume a lot more calories and fat than the average person. The third cluster is labeled Least Fatty/Calorie dense items and contains 29 menu items. This cluster contains the least fatty items on the menu at McDonald’s, shown in blue on the graph. However, the numbers are still rather high. The average calories for this cluster are 383.79 and the average fat is 17.68. So, if you are looking for the least calorie-dense items at McDonald’s, this is the list for you. The final cluster is labeled High Calories and Fat and is shown in purple on the graph. This cluster contains five items and are the highest in fat and calories besides the one item in the second cluster. These items have an average of 1,444 calories and 79.6 grams of total fat. So, if you are looking for a large and very filling meal, these items are a good choice for you.

What Should I Order?

The first cluster named, “Low Calorie and Protein” and labeled in green contains the 24 lowest-calorie and protein-rich items on the menu. These items would be a good choice for anyone who is looking for the lightest menu items from Sonic. This cluster has an average calorie count of 377.5 and an average of 18.66 grams of protein. The second cluster, labeled “Middle Calories and Protein” contains the 19 menu items at Sonic that contain the average amount of calories and protein that are offered at Sonic. These items would be a good choice for anyone wanting to leave Sonic to feel full and satisfied and eat plenty of protein to work to fulfill their daily requirement. This cluster is labeled in blue on the graph and has an average of 682.1 calories and 32.789 grams of protein on average. Finally, the last cluster is labeled in purple on the graph and is titled “Extremely Calorie and protein-rich. These 10 menu items are perfect for a customer who is looking to consume a lot of calories and protein. This cluster contains items with an average of 1,146 calories, and 47.6 grams of protein. Hopefully, this list helps you to decide which menu item you would like to order.

What Should I Order?

Although an order at Subway can be highly customized, the visualizations above take a look at 96 items on their menu. We can split them into three categories based on their calories and sugar content. The first group, “Mild Calorie, Mild Sugar Content”, is red on the scatter plot. It’s worth noting that, although these options might be good for someone aiming for a calorie-deficit, there is a lot of variability in the sugar content - so one should choose wisely. This cluster has an average calorie count of 538 and an average of 10 grams of sugar.

The second cluster, labeled “High Calorie, High Sugar Content” are items at Subway that you might want to avoid for a more health-conscious diet. These are colored green on our scatter plot. Most notably, the Footlong Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki is the item with the highest sugar-level. The sugar content in this single item is almost double the suggested daily sugar intake amount. This cluster has an average of 883 calories and 15 grams of sugar on average.

Finally, the last cluster is blue on the graph and is titled “Low Calorie, Low Sugar Content”. These menu items are perfect for someone who is looking to consume a meal that is light in calories, while staying below the suggested daily sugar intake. The variation in this group is key: there are salads, meat-based sandwiches, and veggie sandwiches. This cluster contains items with an average of 251 calories, and 7 grams of sugar.

What Should I Order?

Perhaps the most important thing to note is that there is not a single item on the Taco Bell menu with a cholesterol content higher than the suggested daily intake of 200 mg for those with health conditions. In some cases however, consuming more than one item quickly approaches that limit. When examining the 115 items on their menu, we separate them into three categories depending on their calories and cholesterol content. First, the “Low Calorie, Low Cholesterol” group is red on the scatter plot and tends to have a cholesterol content between 10 mg to 40 mg. These items also have a low calorie count, in the case that you’re looking to order a lighter meal. This cluster has an average calorie count of 250 and an average of 26 grams of cholesterol, making it the perfect option for anyone craving Taco Bell while maintaining a level of health-consciousness.

The second cluster, labeled “High Calorie, High Cholesterol Content” was given to this name due to it’s average cholesterol content of around 58 grams, with around 689 calories per item. However, it’s important to note that some options in this group have a low cholesterol content and a high calorie count. For example, the Cantina Power Burrito - Veggie is a great option for someone watching their cholesterol intake (10g) but wanting to increase their calorie intake (740cal). If you’re looking to pair an item from this group with another option, anything from “Low Calorie, Low Cholesterol” would be great!

Finally, the last cluster is blue on the graph and is titled “Mild Calorie, Mild Cholesterol Content”. Similar to the last group we spoke about, there is a lot of variability in the cholesterol content. With an average calorie content of 462, while containing an average of 40 grams of cholesterol, this is the best option for anyone seeking a happy medium!